Pressure Washing Farm Equipment: The Complete Guide
Agricultural machinery and tools are crucial to the lasting success of any farm’s operations. However, as any farmer knows, these vital pieces of equipment can quickly accumulate debris and stains from various common materials like dirt, grease, manure, and oil.
Managing your farm’s cleaning tasks is vitally important, which is why pressure washing farm equipment has become a reliable part of the agricultural industry. With a suitable farm pressure washer, you can streamline cleaning and sanitization processes and ensure your equipment operates efficiently.
This guide will explore everything you need to know about farm pressure washers, so let’s get right into it.
Common Use Cases for a Farm Pressure Washer
If you have no experience using a farm pressure washer, the number of use cases you will find may surprise you.
Farm pressure washers can be used to clean heavy machinery like tractors, plows, and spreaders in a fraction of the time as manual methods. You can also use pressure washers with sanitizing detergents to ensure your animal housing areas are fully hygienic or perform necessary upkeep on your storage buildings.
Cleaning Tractors and Harvesters
Given the average cost of agricultural machinery, it is paramount to the long-term success of your farm that you keep your equipment in peak condition.
Tractors, harvesters, and plows can accumulate dirt, grime, and biological residue from your crops and animals throughout a workday.
Thanks to a power washer’s high-powered water stream, you can blast away these stains quickly, even hitting hard-to-reach internal components. Regularly cleaning your equipment ensures that your machinery avoids wear and tear from the buildup of these stains, maintaining optimal performance and extending its lifespan.
Sanitizing Animal Housing and Milking Parlors
Maintaining a sanitary and hygienic environment around your livestock is essential to the quality of your products. The unparalleled cleaning ability of pressure washers allows you to eradicate bacteria and other contaminants from animal housing areas, promoting a clean environment.
The flexibility of pressure washers is partly thanks to the variety of specialty detergents on the market. You can use a vehicle or machinery-specific detergent for your agricultural machinery and then swap to a food-safe blend for animal housings with minimal effort!
Maintaining Outbuildings and Storage Facilities
The buildings and facilities on your farm play a vital role in your operations. However, without a proper cleaning method, these buildings can often go ignored, leading to debris buildup on their surfaces.
Thankfully, pressure washing is a tried-and-true method for cleaning buildings. The powerful water streams of a pressure washer can efficiently remove mold, dirt, and mud from walls and floors, ensuring that all of your buildings are clean.
This is especially important for your food storage facilities, as an unclean environment can lower the quality of your products and harm your farm’s reputation.
Benefits of Pressure Washing Over Traditional Cleaning Methods
Farm pressure washers are an excellent cleaning tool, but how do they stack up to traditional methods?
Frankly, there is no contest between the two. Pressure washing is an extremely efficient and optimized way to clean all aspects of a farm, from your machinery to animal housing. Unlike traditional cleaning methods, which require extensive manual labor and harsh chemicals, pressure washing is safe and can be completed in a fraction of the time.
Plus, pressure washing is the most consistent way to access hard-to-reach areas, like tight crevices or within internal components of your agricultural machinery.
So, with this method as a clear winner over harmful chemicals or tiring manual labor, what do you need to start pressure washing?
What Do I Need for Pressure Washing Farm Equipment?
From deciding between multiple types of power washers to choosing what kind of soap for a pressure washer you need for various tasks on your farm, there is much to consider when shopping.
Let’s break it all down to help you find the best farm pressure washers and accessories.
Selecting the Right Pressure Washer
What is the best commercial pressure washer for the agriculture industry?
Multiple factors must be considered when shopping. Whether you buy or rent a pressure washer, you must choose the right engine type, water temperature, and water flow attributes to maximize your cleaning efficiency.
First, should you choose an electric or gas pressure washer?
In the agricultural industry, the two engine types are tightly matched. Gas models are more mobile and generally have more power at similar sizes. However, electric power washers are safer indoors and more eco-friendly.
We recommend that gas models are better if you primarily work with outdoor crops where ventilation is not a concern. Gas washers are better suited for clearing tough stains like mud, oil, and grease from heavy machinery like tractors and plows.
However, if you are also planning to clean animal housing and storage facilities, you must either clear the area of animals and crops before cleaning, guarantee proper ventilation, or invest in a separate electric model.
Once you have decided on an engine type, our next concern is water temperature. The choice of a hot water pressure washer vs a cold model is relatively simple. Hot water is better suited for handling tougher stains like grease and oil.
Finally, what about GPM and PSI for a pressure washer? These two attributes are found all over a pressure washing catalog, but what do they mean?
Pressure washer PSI stands for pounds per square inch, denoting the power of your water stream. Conversely, pressure washer GPM represents gallons per minute, which describes the amount of water coming from your machine.
Larger numbers are not always better. While it can be excellent for your heavy machinery like tractors and harvesters to opt for a model with 3000+ PSI and 4+ GPM, that much power can be damaging to more delicate surfaces.
If you also plan to clean the sides of buildings or even lighter farm vehicles like a pick-up truck, look for a model with adjustable water flow to get down closer to 1500 PSI and 2-3 GPM.
Choosing Detergents and Cleaners
After finding a machine or two for your farm, you should next focus on the type of soap you use. Like your power washer itself, the best detergent for a pressure washer in an agricultural scenario will depend on your intended use cases.
A heavy-duty formula like Hotsy Breakthrough or Hotsy Ripper I is an excellent choice for your machinery and vehicles, as they specialize in oil and grease.
On the other hand, a lighter blend like Hotsy Verde All-Purpose or Hotsy Carbochlor will be more delicate and biodegradable for animal housing or food storage areas.
Accessories and Attachments
The best pressure washer accessories for pressure washing farm equipment are easier to decide than the previous two categories. Investing in various accessories is a good choice, as each can be useful in multiple cases.
We recommend different nozzles, like the Hotsy X-Jet for reaching up to 40’ high for building sidings, the Hotsy Foam Cannon for vehicles, and the Hotsy Surface Cleaner for animal housings.
You also want to invest in the best pressure washer hoses to ensure your water can eradicate tough stains efficiently. Given the average pressure washer hose length, a premium quality hose reel can also be an excellent investment for staying organized while cleaning.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Finally, while pressure washing is a safe cleaning method, you still want to ensure you and your staff remain safe during operations. To lower the risk of accidents, we recommend safety goggles or a face shield, gloves, sturdy clothing, and non-slip boots.
How to Use a Farm Pressure Washer: Step-by-Step Guide
You now know how to shop for your equipment, but how does the cleaning process work?
Let’s look at how to use a pressure washer on a farm, going step-by-step to walk you through the process.
Preparation and Safety
Before you connect a single hose or nozzle, it is crucial to set up your cleaning areas and equipment for success. From navigating pressure washing trailer setup to applying pre treatment for pressure washing, every step will help ensure the cleaning job goes smoothly and efficiently.
Identify all the equipment and areas that need cleaning. Remember that some cleaning tasks will require vastly different detergents and machines, so you may want to approach them at separate times to avoid using the wrong tools for the job.
Clear the areas and equipment of any loose debris or obstacles that could interfere with the process. You should also inspect each piece for any apparent stains or debris so you can place greater focus on them.
The Cleaning Process
You will start the cleaning with your detergent. While you can check out our article on how to use pressure washer soap for specifics, as a general rule, you will apply the detergent to every surface, allowing it to sit for enough time to break down embedded stains.
Once your soap is sufficiently soaked, spray each surface with sweeping and overlapping motions. During this process, you may wish to swap out accessories and adjust your water flow to access hard-to-reach areas.
Rinsing and Drying
Once your surfaces are thoroughly cleaned, it is time to rinse them off. It is crucial to be thorough during this process, as residual detergent can leave water spots.
Inspect each surface after it has been rinsed, checking for the presence of any leftover debris or contaminants. If you see any leftover stains, repeat the process.
Allow every surface to dry. You can air dry them or use gentle fans and absorbent towels to speed up the process.
Post-Cleaning Maintenance
Your farm equipment and buildings are now sparking clean and looking as good as new. This is an excellent opportunity to inspect your surfaces and equipment for wear and tear that may have gone hidden under dirt and debris.
Once that is done, learning how to maintain a pressure washer and storing a pressure washer is simple. You will detach your accessories, flush the detergent tank, and follow other specific instructions based on your engine or water temperature.
Of course, if you have any questions throughout this process, feel free to contact our team for personalized advice!
Once you have mastered this process and have a complete shopping list for pressure washing farm equipment, all that is left for you to do is to start shopping! If you are looking for a commercial pressure washer in Houston and Southeast Texas, read our recommendation for where to shop.
Wrapping Up Our Guide to Pressure Washing Farm Equipment
Overall, pressure washing farm equipment is the most reliable way to promote operation efficiency and maintain a hygienic environment on a farm.
Whether you are looking for a commercial pressure washer trailer or a commercial hot water pressure washer in Houston, the best place to shop for everything you need for your Southeast Texas farm is Hotsy of Houston!
Our team of Houston natives have decades of combined experience working in the industry, and we are honored to be an authorized Hotsy retailer. We stand by the storied reputation of the Hotsy brand, with over 50 years of helping business owners across several industries streamline their cleaning processes.
As the #1 resource for pressure washer parts in Houston, Hotsy of Houston offers a comprehensive inventory with all the tools you need to tackle any cleaning job. We will work with you as strategic partners for your operations.
From affordable commercial pressure washer rental that includes our personalized recommendations to commercial pressure washer repair and Hotsy warranty servicing to keep your machine in peak condition, you can rest easy knowing we are on your side.
If you enjoyed our in-depth look at farm pressure washers, check out our blog for more! Other articles include what size pressure washer do I need, pressure washer rental costs, commercial building pressure washing, parking lot pressure washing, restaurant pressure washing, and pressure washing graffiti.
Otherwise, whether you are looking for pressure washer detergent or a commercial cold water pressure washer in Houston, Hotsy of Houston has your back. Call us at (832) 968-WASH(9274) or visit our Pasadena Freeway store to learn more about how pressure washing farm equipment can revolutionize your workflow!
